Tony White didn't have to worry about facing three-time champion Craig Evans Sunday in the Music City Triathlon, but that didn't mean it wasn't a steep challenge.

Evans didn't sign up for the 36th annual event, but White still had a difficult time because significant changes were made to the course that winds through downtown.

There was a new start and finish line and much warmer temperatures, but White, 29, a Nashville resident, handled it well on the way to winning in 2:07:58.

Hunter Honeycutt, 20, of Tifton, Ga., was the runner-up (2:14:30).

"It was tough this year," White said. "The water was warmer, the bike was just a little bit longer, and the run course was supposed to be flatter, but it didn't seem that way."

For the third consecutive year, Kirsten Sass, 35, of McKenzie, Tenn., was the top female finisher (2:18:18).

There were 695 competitors for the standard and sprint courses.

Because of construction being conducted on the east bank of the Cumberland River, the start and finish line was moved to the west bank near Riverfront Park.

That also meant the courses for the 24.9-mile bike and 6.2-mile run had to be altered.

White, who works at a chiropractic clinic, actually posted a faster time (2:02:15) last year when he finished second to Evans (1:58:16).

Honeycutt gave White the stiffest competition Sunday from the start.

They both came out of the Cumberland River for the first segment (1,500 meters) of the race neck-and-neck and stayed close for the first two miles on their bikes.

"That's where I got a good little lead," White said. "On the turnaround I was looking back for him and couldn't see him, so I felt pretty good."

Honeycutt said he knew he was in trouble when he was unable to move ahead of White in the water.

"I've always been more of a swim/run guy; he was with me on the swim, which worried me," Honeycutt said. "The bike is a little bit of my weakness. I come from draft-legal style of bike where you draft here and there. So when I get out alone on my own it's a little harder for me to push."

Sass' time was also slower than last year when she posted a 2:12:16. She beat Seeley Gutierrez, 38, from Tallahassee, Fla. (2:21:10).

"The new course was pretty great," Sass said. "I loved the back course being closed to traffic like it was."

Charlene Challenger-Smith, 35, of Nashville was the top female finisher in the sprint in 1:09:58.

Race director Faye Yates said the changes made to the course may become permanent.

"It went great; we were super happy with the move over," Yates said. "We weren't expecting it, but when it came we made lemonade out of lemons. People love the downtown venue and I've only had compliments. There's a chance that we will keep it this way. We'll talk to the city about that, but I think if they're happy, we're happy with it."